Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “rhombus” come from?

Rhombus comes from Latin rhombus, from Ancient Greek ῥόμβος, derived from the verb ῥέμβω meaning to spin or whirl, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European roots wer- and werbh-.

rhombus (English): A parallelogram having all sides of equal length;...

Definitions

  1. A parallelogram having all sides of equal length;...

Ancestry of “rhombus”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinrhombusrhombus; flatfish; sturgeon
2Ancient Greekῥόμβοςbullroarer, an instrument whirled on the end of a...
3Ancient GreekῥέμβωI turn in circles; I roam, rove about
4Proto-Indo-Europeanwrembh-—
5Proto-Indo-Europeanwerbh-to turn, twist, bend
6Proto-Indo-Europeanwer-to burn; to cover, heed, notice; squirrel
Every word from Proto-Indo-European wer- →